[guide.chat] Mens semi finals to take place today
- From: "Carol O'Connor" <missbossyboots33@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "guide chat" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2012 09:31:52 +0100
Murray, Tsonga, Djokovic, Federer set for semis. By Rob Hodgetts BBC Sport at
Wimbledon
Venue: All England Club, London
Date: 25 June - 8 July
Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC HD Channel, Red Button, BBC Radio 5
live, mobiles, tablet and the BBC Sport website. Men's and women's singles
finals in 3D on BBC HD Channel.
Andy Murray will attempt to become the first British man to reach a Wimbledon
singles final for 74 years when he takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday.
Murray will contest his fourth straight semi-final after fighting from a set
and a break down against David Ferrer.
"I'd be disappointed if I lost before the final in any tournament" Andy Murray
Fourth seed
The last Briton to reach the Wimbledon final was Bunny Austin in 1938, two
years after Fred Perry's famous win.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic will take on six-time winner Roger Federer in
the first semi-final at 13:00 BST.
Fourth seed Murray, 25, has beaten France's Tsonga in five of their six
previous meetings.
But Murray, who lost his last two Wimbledon semi-finals to insists he is not
underestimating the fifth seed, who came from two sets behind to beat Federer
in the quarter-finals 12 months ago.
Path to the last four.
Murray Tsonga
bt Nikolay Davydenko (Rus) 6-1 6-1 6-4
Round 1
bt Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) 6-3 6-4 6-4
bt Ivo Karlovic (Cro) 7-5 6-7 6-2 7-6
Round 2
bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spa) 6-7 6-4 6-1 6-3
bt Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-1
Round 3
bt Lukas Lacko (Svk) 6-4 6-3 6-3
bt Marin Cilic (Cro) 7-5 6-2 6-3
Round 4
bt Mardy Fish (US) 4-6 7-6 6-4 6-4
bt David Ferrer (Spa) 6-7 7-6 6-4 7-6
bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (Ger) 7-6 4-6 7-6 6-2
"Jo's a tough opponent," said Murray. "He's served very well so far. It's a
very different match to playing against Rafa, but he's one of the best
grass-court players in the world, that's for sure."
The British number one has beaten Nikolay Davydenko, Ivo Karlovic, Marcos
Baghdatis, Marin Cilic and David Ferrer to reach the last four.
"When you start each tournament, you want to try to win," said Murray.
"Everyone kept telling me I had such a hard draw and how tough it was going to
be to get through. I managed to do that. I've beaten some very good players.
"But I want it to continue. I'd be disappointed if I lost before the final in
any tournament, but I don't just expect to get there. It's a very difficult
thing to do. You need to make sure you perform properly."
The 27-year-old Tsonga, who beat Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach the
last four, said: "It's going to be a big fight for sure and I have to get
ready. I will not be a player who most support but I will play my game, try to
be good and see what happens. I know the crowd already like me here and I like
them too."
Tsonga relishing 'huge' Murray match
Serbia's Djokovic will try to put himself in position for a second Wimbledon
title and sixth Grand Slam victory when he meets Federer in Friday's first
semi-final on Centre Court at 13:00 BST.
But the 25-year-old world number one will need to be at his best in his
The 30-year-old Swiss is aiming for his eighth Wimbledon final, but his first
since he beat Andy Roddick in 2009, the longest men's singles final in terms of
games played.
"He has a variety, great variety, in his game," Djokovic said.
"He uses his serve very well. He opens up the court. He uses that slice really
well to get the balls to bounce low. He's very aggressive at times. He can
defend well.
"Federer has dominated for so long - for me it will be the ultimate challenge"
Novak Djokovic Top seed
"He has a really smart game for this surface. But I have improved playing on
grass in the last couple of years.
"I mean, I won the title here last year and got to another semi-final this
year."
Federer, ranked third in the world, can reclaim the world number one ranking
from Djokovic, while a seventh Wimbledon title would also take him level with
Pete Sampras and William Renshaw, who reigned in the 1880s. He would also match
Sampras's record of 286 weeks at the top of the rankings.
Federer, who won his last Grand Slam title in Australia in 2010, has beaten
Djokovic in 14 of their 26 past meetings, but Djokovic has prevailed in six of
the last seven, including the last three.
"Obviously it helps that he won the last couple against me," Federer said.
"It is our first grass-court match. We don't know quite what to expect. I feel
it's a bit of an even ground. You would have to ask him. I feel good about the
match. I'm excited.
"I've been playing well for a year now. I'm happy that going into the semis I'm
not tired, I'm not injured, I'm not anything. I'm fresh and ready to go. That's
how I want to feel before a semi."
He added: "You have to prepare yourself well in every department.
"Only a perfect performance will be enough to beat Djokovic."
Meanwhile, will be the first Briton to compete in the men's doubles
semi-finals for 35 years as he and partner Frederik Nielsen face the United
States' Bryan brothers for a place in the final.
Semi-final chance excites Marray
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